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Whitefish Return to Detroit River

Fisheries scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service last fall verified the presence of both spawning lake whitefish and fertilized whitefish eggs, the agencies announced Friday. It is the first documented spawning of the species, a key indicator species of ecosystem health, in the river since 1916. Whitefish is the top commercial species in the Great Lakes and is excellent table fare. But massive engineering in 1907 in the river, which connects and drains Lake St. Clair into Lake Erie, improved the channel for shipping but wrecked critical aquatic habitat.

John Hartig, manager of the Detroit International Wildlife Refuge, the only international wildlife refuge in North America, said that the whitefish recovery helps draw attention to the river and refuge. The refuge includes islands, coastal wetlands, marshes, shoals and waterfront along 48 miles of the Detroit River and western Lake Erie.

Read Whitefish rally in Detroit River in the Toledo Blade

Posted/updated May 24, 2006
by Andrew McFarlane (Absolute Michigan)